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Jones and Denby Lead Softball into Pac-12 Quarterfinals

by thesundevils.com
May 8, 2024

STANFORD, Calif. – Three early runs would be all Deborah Jones needed to pitch Sun Devil softball past Oregon State 3-1 in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament.

Arizona State (20-30) took a 1-0 lead with two outs in the top of the second inning when Samantha Swan singled and then scored on a double from Libby Walsh. ASU opened the third inning with back-to-back doubles from Tanya Windle and Alesia Denby to take a 2-0 lead. Denby then scored on a double steal to give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead.

Jones then took over in the circle, dominating the game. After walking two in the first inning, she went on a rampage, retiring 12 straight Oregon State (21-29) hitters before allowing her first hit in the fifth. The Beavers broke through with a run in the sixth inning, but it was too little, too late, as Jones retired the final four batters she faced to secure the win.

Jones finished the complete game, allowing three hits and striking out five. Denby recorded a season-high three hits at the plate with Walsh adding two.

The win puts the Sun Devils into the quarterfinals, where they will face top-seed and sixth-ranked UCLA at 4 p.m.

NOTABLES

  • This was the fourth time this season that ASU hit multiple triples in the same game.
  • The 17 triples this season are the most since having 18 in 1994 and tied for the ninth-most in program history.
  • This is the Sun Devils' first win at the Pac-12 Tournament, which began in 2023.
  • Denby recorded her first three-hit game since April 22, 2023, for Fresno State against Nevada. It was her eighth multi-hit game of the season.
  • The multi-hit game from Walsh is her seventh of the season. She added her sixth RBI against Oregon State.

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